The present disclosure relates to the field of fishing jigs and lures. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved attachment system for connecting a fishing line to lures such as soft body fishing lures.
Fishing activity ranges from subsistence gathering, to commercial industry, to recreational activity, and to professional competition. Artificial bait lures and attachments have been developed to attract and catch fish, and numerous lures and attachments have been adapted to mimic the appearance and movement of common fish prey.
Fishing jigs are especially prized for catching larger fish because the riggings mimic a large, slow moving meal. There are virtually unlimited techniques for fishing with jigs and jig riggings for different fish species. Jigs are especially effective as a drop bait when the jig has highest visibility and appearance as an easy meal. While swimming jigs such as spinners and those with grass skirts are kept high in the water column, other jigs are designed for resting on the water bottom while keeping an artificial body suspended slightly above the bottom.
Numerous jig designs have been developed for different rigging and fishing applications, and for different fish species. Jig heads can be shaped in many configurations and colors with the most common comprising a round or ball shaped head. Other popular jig head shapes known as flipping jig heads, football jig heads, and grass jig heads are typically moulded to a hook and are sized in different weights ranging from 1/80th of an ounce to nearly one pound for large saltwater bottomfish. Other jig head styles are known as wobblers, darter style, slider style, tube style, spinner, and standup styles. Noisemaking attachments, weed guards, and other features are sometimes added to attract fish or to minimize snagging of the hook on underwater obstructions. While certain jig designs such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,748,157 to Hellmann (2010) are shaped to encourage movement of the jig, undesirable movement can invert the jig so that it is facing in the wrong direction. As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,786 to Hughes (1992) a hook eye is commonly positioned in the front of a jig and the weight of the jig body is located to provide a righting moment to the jig.
A bare moving jig is not appetizing to fish, especially in clear, calm water. Accordingly, fish bait bodies are attached to a jig weight and hook to mimic natural bait and to entice a fish strike. Various jig attachments include skirts, feather or hair attachments such as “bucktail jigs”. Flexible bait bodies are manufactured from rubber, plastic or silicone and can resemble grubs, worms, frogs, fish, crayfish, paddle tails, lizards, or insects. The flexible bait body is skewered with the jig hook to attach the body to the jig and is subsequently cast into the water.
Because the weighted head of a jig is typically located toward the front, leading end, the body does not uniformly settle in the water when cast because the weighted head settles first in the water column. Locating the weighted head at the front of the plastic bait reduces the natural appearance of certain bait bodies shaped as crayfish or frogs. Efforts to locate conventional jig heads at other locations within a body weaken the integrity of the soft body and reduce the endurance of the lure.
Another problem with conventional jigs is that when soft, flexible bodies are inserted over the hook the structural integrity of the soft body is weakened, increasing the possibility that the soft body will separate from the jig or otherwise become damaged during casting or retrieval or while fighting fish after hookup. One example of this is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,606 to Bingler (1976), which further incorporated a ball chain swivel to limit twisting movement of the fishing line and connected jig body. Additionally, jig fisherman are frustrated as the soft bait body moves relative to the jig hook, either by bunching up at the wrong place or by sliding backwards on the hook. For swimming jigs with a soft plastic trailer, the preferred bait presentation is that the single tail of a bait body such as a grub should always face downward, perfectly centered and straight in line with the hook without rigging a kink or bend in the flexible bait body. Any movement between the soft bait body and the jig changes the desired movement and performance of the jig assembly in the water.
A variety of techniques have been developed to hold the soft body in a fixed position relative to the jig weight and hook shaft. Unites States Patent Application Publication No. 2009071057 by Hoyt (2009) shows a retainer and hook for preventing a body from moving relative to a hook shaft. Spring locks, corkscrews, hook bends, and multifaceted concentric rings have been used, however most of these structures also reduce the internal strength of the soft, flexible bait body with the undesirable consequences previously described. U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,146 to Gill (2006) shows a bait keeper for retaining the jig body and also contemplates using an internally reinforced artificial bait body to reduce tearing and other damage to such body.
Other techniques have been developed to facilitate the interchange of jig heads with various hook configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,894 to Anderson (2005) shows an interchangeable jig head and hook uniquely adapted to the jig head. U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,775 to Crumrine (1996) shows a fishhook with an elongated shank adaptable to a weighted jig head so that the hook can be locked to the jig head.
Various techniques have been developed to disguise the shape and scent of artificial fishing lures, and to create a combined shape to emulate the shape of natural baits, or to impart a different motion to the artificial fishing lure as such lure moves through water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,325 to Grant (1987) disclosed a lure body having a plurality of thin, elongate chamois strips attached rearwardly of the lure body head to absorb fish scent attractants and to impart a lifelike movement to the lure. U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,146 to Grant (2000) disclosed an adhesive tape for attachment to a lure body wherein the adhesive tape included an open foam cell for retaining a fishing scent enhancement.
A need exists for an improved attachment system for connecting a fishing line to a body and fish hook, and for attaching peripheral lure components to enhance the shape, movement and sensory perception of the fishing lure. The system should be rugged and field adaptable to facilitating the interchange of different jig components, it should allow for the user to decide where the weight and line hook-up should be applied, and should be an improved system for attaching various bait lures to a fishing line.